Fashion ’15: Meet the team | The Triangle

Fashion ’15: Meet the team

Photo courtesy Her Wearabouts
Photo courtesy Her Wearabouts

Jaclyn Fleurant, senior, design and merchandising, co- public relations and marketing coordinator

The Triangle: Tell me more about your role for the fashion show.

Jaclyn Fleurant: Being in charge of social media, spreading the word around campus and planning our guerilla marketing strategy plan where we organized a pop up fashion show at the academic quad. The pop-up fashion show was planned to raise awareness for the day and have people selling tickets.

TT: Tell me about your past fashion internship experiences.

JF: I worked at Marc Jacobs, so I split my time between working with the design team and in the sample room. What I liked about Marc Jacobs was how international it was. I was the only American intern!

TT: What do you want to do after graduation?

JF: I’m really opened minded. You never know what you’re going to end up with. It just depends on the right fit.

TT: What are you taking out of this experience?

JF: That personalization is one of the ways to get people engaged.

Photo courtesy of Claire Rabinowitz
Photo courtesy Claire Rabinowitz

Claire Rabinowitz, senior, design and merchandising major and marketing minor, student director

The Triangle: Tell me more about your role for the fashion show.

Claire Rabinowitz: As the student director, I work very closely with Catherine Byers, the program director of design and merchandising and faculty producer of the fashion show. It is my responsibility to oversee, motivate and coordinate the team members in all areas of the show. I ensure that deadlines are met, including confirming 400 friends and family letters were sent, and that all fashion designers submitted their logos and collection descriptions. I also recruit and organize 54 volunteers for the fashion show, which are often underclassmen that dress the models. In this role, I am regularly multi-tasking and communicating professionally between faculty, designers and fellow design and merchandising students producing the show.

TT: Tell me about your past fashion internship experiences.

CR: My co-op was for Anthropologie at their corporate office. I worked specifically in the curating department, a four-person team focused on promoting and championing the artisanal values that the brand was founded on. After my co-op, I stayed on part-time with Anthropologie on the furniture buying team. When I came back from studying abroad, I returned for a part-time internship with the jewelry buying team.

TT: What has been your favorite part of this experience so far?

CR: Thus far, my favorite part has been watching the designers’ collections come to life. When I was appointed student director, I took it upon myself to spend as much free time as possible in the fashion design labs talking to the designers. I feel it’s important that they know who I am and understand that I am an available resource to them during this process. I have witnessed many of their ideas turn into sketches, sketches into muslins and muslins into completed garments. Having just finished model fittings, I can wholeheartedly say that this year’s show is going to be amazing!

Photo courtesy of Julia Pacitti
Photo courtesy Julia Pacitti

Julia Pacitti, senior, design and merchandising, garment coordinator

The Triangle:  Tell me more about your role for the fashion show.

Julia Pacitti: Courtney Cohen and I are responsible for keeping track of all of the garments in the show, who designed them, who will be modeling them and when it will be on the runway. There are over 200 looks, they are all assigned a number and things are always changing so it can get a little crazy! It’s an exciting job because we get to know all of the designers and collections really well.

TT: Tell me about your past fashion internship experiences.

JP: For one of my co-ops, I worked with Mary K. Dougherty & Associates / Nicole Miller Philadelphia. I worked with marketing, event planning and creative services. The fast-paced environment has definitely helped me to be on my toes at all the events leading up to the fashion show, and I’m sure it will come in handy backstage.

TT: What have you learned about producing a fashion show after this experience?

JP: It takes a village (and a lot of coffee!)

TT: What has been your favorite part of this experience so far?

JP: My favorite part of the fashion show is the clothes of course! Even though the designers have been working on their collections all year, we get to see their work come together in the month leading up to the show.

Photo courtesy of Ana Prodanovich
Photo courtesy Ana Prodanovich

Ana Prodanovich, senior, design and merchandising, model coordinator

The Triangle: Tell me more about your role for the fashion show.

Ana Prodanovich: I’m in charge of talking to all the modeling agencies, getting in contact with them, letting them know we are having the event and seeing what models they can send us. After we cast the models, we have to book the models. From then on, I’m making sure that the models are not late, not somewhere sleeping on the side or taking photos in the dressing room when they should be on the runway.

TT: What challenges have you faced throughout this whole process?

AP: Just making sure everyone is on the same page and lots of emailing!

TT: What did you learn from working for the fashion show?

AP: Having a team, being able to delegate and being able to learn how to build relationships with your team.